


Keys, Late Night Talks, and Google Alert

by Diary



Category: Scandal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Awkward Conversations, Bechdel Test Fail, Canon Character of Color, Canon Gay Character, Canon Queer Character, F/M, Family, Friendship/Love, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Minor Character Death, POV Multiple, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 18:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6577684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. A look at what might have happened if Big Jerry had been stopped. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keys, Late Night Talks, and Google Alert

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Scandal.

After five minutes of watching Tom searching, Hal finally says, “I think you forgot the keys.”

“I never forget the keys.”

This is true; Tom does have an uncanny ability to never forget, lose, or leave anything behind, but even the best agents occasionally have private reactions to the people they come across, and Cyrus Beene, some campaign manager former Governor Big Jerry wants for his son, is probably the reason Tom forgot the keys. Whatever the reaction Tom had, Hal can’t say, but he does know Tom had kept a closer eye on Beene than he usually does guests of the former governor.

Seeing Tom has finally conceded the keys are not anywhere on his person, on the ground near the car, or even in the car itself, Hal says, “I’ll go get them.”

He goes inside, finds the keys in the basin near the door, and is about to leave when he thinks he might have heard something.

Moving towards where the sound might have come from, he finds himself in front of the study and hesitantly knocks on the door.

There’s a muffled but distinctive sound from Mrs Grant, and praying he’s not about to walk in on her and her husband in an intimate moment, he braces himself, opens the door, and taking the scene in, he acts on his instinct.

Ignoring the bleeding nose and stinging eye Big Jerry’s punch leaves, he puts all of his strength in keeping him pinned to the wall.

Some vague part of him is relieved to see, while Big Jerry’s zipper is undone, everything is still tucked in, and the other part wishes Mrs Grant would stop sitting curled around herself on the couch and leave so he could work on forcing Big Jerry out of the house.

“Hal,” he hears Tom calling.

This snaps Mrs Grant out of her trance, and she jumps up and runs.

There’s a crash, and Hal feels close to crying when Tom leads Mrs Grant with cuts on her hands and knees back into the room.

It must have been one of the hallway vases.

Thankfully, Tom immediately sees, steps in front of Mrs Grant, and calmly orders, “Hal, take Mrs Grant to Mr Grant. I’ll escort the governor home.”

…

“Stop pacing,” Mellie snaps.

Taking a breath, Fitz carefully sits down on the bed. “I don’t know what to do,” he admits. “What to say. Mellie, I’m so sorry. I want to kill him.”

She takes a shuddery breath. “It’s- we still- I don’t know, either. Hold me, Fitz. You can’t be afraid to touch me because of this.”

Moving so he’s against the headboard, he pulls her against him and kisses her head. “I don’t want to risk hurting you further.”

“You won’t,” she assures him. “We do still need him.”

He tenses.

“We do,” she insists. “Don’t you want to make a difference, Fitz?”

“Not if it means he ever comes near you again,” he answers. “And really, is this really what you want, Mellie? You worked your ass off to make partner. Being a housewife, doing some charity work on the side- that isn’t you.”

She sighs and burrows closer to him. Closing her eyes, she says, “I want to help people. I want to make a difference so badly, Fitz, partly because I want to be part of history, and because I do want more power than just being a partner at a law firm, but I do genuinely want to help people, too. I want any daughters we have to have the whole world at their feet. I want them to be safe without having to rely on someone protecting them. I want any sons we have to never, ever do anything close to what Big Jerry almost did to me. I want them to be appalled by the thought of any man doing that to a woman. I want to help the people who don’t have any bootstraps. I know you and I disagree on this, but I want people to stop going after the second amendment.”

He laughs.

Smiling, she opens her eyes and leans up to kiss him.

“Be very honest, Mellie: Even if I did get into the White House, if somehow, I got into the Oval someday, do you really think I’d be cut out for that job?”

She’s quiet for a moment. “With my help, yes, baby.”

“You could do it without my help,” he says. “I love you, Mellie, and I know you want to believe your words, but the truth is, I’m not made for that. I’d be happy as a mayor or something along those lines. My dreams- if we’re being completely honest, they just aren’t as big as yours. But- maybe, you could do it with my help, too. I don’t know how he is with that wife of his, but Daniel Douglas seems fairly happy.”

“Fitz,” she scolds.

“Try to defend Sally Langston, and I’m calling you a liar and possibly a hypocrite,” he warns.

“No, you won’t,” she replies with a laugh. “I don’t like her, either, but I do admire all she’s accomplished, and self-righteous or not, she’s one of the few politicians who genuinely sticks to her principles.”

“That is true,” he admits.

They sit in silence for a while.

Suddenly, she says, “If I were to make a run for the White House- would you really be okay with that? I love you more than anything, Fitz. I know our parents really wanted this, but I didn’t marry you because of that.” Moving away, she puts her hand under his chin and looks into his eyes. “I love you, baby. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You make me so happy, and I want to make you happy, too.”

“You do,” he answers. Reaching up, he moves her hand, links his fingers through hers, and softly kisses her lips. “I love you, too, Mellie, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to make you happy. And yes, I would be more than okay with you getting into politics. I want to have babies with you, and when they grow up, I want the same things for them you want. I think more people like you is what people without bootstraps needs. I’m not going to completely quit working, but I can find something that still lets me help you. As for gun control, as long as you admit I’m right-”

“Fitzgerald Grant, the second amendment was part of what guaranteed and continues to protect our freedom!”

“Muskets, Mellie. They didn’t have semi-automatic and automatic and whatever category machine guns fall into back then. Yes, the right to form a well-armed militia was necessary back then, but aside from the evolution of weapons, how people are expected to deal with their discontent with the government has radically changed.”

“In some ways, not for the better,” she says.

“Maybe not, but your way would be a step back.”

She makes a face, and he laughs and kisses her again.

Settling back against him, she says, “I can be fine being in the same room with him, Fitz. I- I can. When we have babies, though, I don’t want them anywhere near him. I don’t think he would, but- no.”

“He’s never going to be in the same room with you, either,” he firmly declares. “We don’t need him, Mellie. We’ll find a way to get you into the White House without him.”  

 Nodding, she takes a breath. “I’m fine. I need to shower.”

“Mellie, are you sure-”

“I told you and Agent Rimbeau, I don’t want to call the police. There are ways we can make sure he never hurts anyone else, Fitz, and if it ever comes out he did hurt someone or tried, I’d want to help them. But I don’t want to talk to strangers about what happened, I don’t want my name and what happened in some report out there.”

“Would you consider a therapist or counselling of some kind, Mellie,” he quietly asks. “We could find someone trustworthy to keep discretion, and a lot of politicians see them. I just- You’re strong, Mellie, and I know this hasn’t broken you. In some ways, I can never completely understand what happened. But I know it was terrible, and I want to make sure you truly heal as best you can. Call it selfish, but I also want to make sure this doesn’t negatively affect us.”

“Okay,” she agrees. “We’ll see about finding someone certified I can talk to. But right now, what I need is a shower. Then, when I slip into bed, I need you to kiss me good night and wrap around me like you always do.”

“I can do that,” he says.

…

Hal has no idea how to feel, and if he had to take a guess at what Tom’s feeling, he’d say it was probably exasperation.

Tom took Big Jerry (a rapist, or at least, a would-be one, and Hal knew he was a lady’s man, but now, he has to wonder if any of the women he ever left the man alone with went through what Mrs Grant did or worse) home, left for the night, and when they checked on him in the morning, they found him dead in bed.

Heart attack, the doctor said.

It’s no one’s fault, but every agent on the detail is going to be questioned.

Hal has a black eye.

Tom was the last one to see the former governor alive.

At this point, Hal is afraid for the worst, and he’s not even sure what the worst is.

“I’m glad he’s dead,” he blurts out.

Tom looks around. “It could have happened at a better time.”

“Yeah,” Hal agrees. “I liked him, though. Not after last night, obviously, but I really thought he was one of the good guys. Not great. A little too set in his ways, and I’m sure he did some dirty dealing while in office, but otherwise, a good guy.”

“I didn’t,” Tom says, “but aside from him getting drunk and coming to blows with his poker buddies, I never thought he might be a physical danger to other people.”

…

Dress in hand, Fitz hurries into Mellie’s office.

She rushes over in her bra and skirt, and he quickly closes the door and tosses the dress aside. “Mellie- what-”

She cuts him off with a kiss and moves his hand to her stomach.

One look into her eyes tells him.

“Really? Are you absolutely-”

“We’re going to have a baby,” she confirms.

Laughing, he grabs her, kisses her, and spins her around.

“Oh, no,” she mutters. “Fitz-” She stumbles to the couch.

“I’m sorry,” he quickly says. Helping her sit down, he takes her hand. “Is-”

“I’m fine,” she assures him. “I might need to start keeping extra clothes at the office, though. Fitz, we’re having a baby!”

“Yes,” he kisses her, “we are.”

“If I need to, I’ll lighten my workload, but I’m not taking a break.”

He nods. “I know. We need to schedule a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible, though. Do you know if it’s a boy or girl? For the nursery, I know we were talking about-”

“Fitz.”

“Mellie, what is it?”

“What Big Jerry did is horrible, and unfortunately, you share his name, but it is yours. If it’s a boy, I want him to share yours. Not your father’s. Yours.”

He hesitates. “How about, we talk more about names once we find out for sure what we’re having? Okay?”

She nods and kisses him. “Right now, could you find me a ginger ale or some sort of caffeine-free soda, sweetheart? This baby either didn’t get enough at breakfast or doesn’t approve of what I had.”

“Of course,” he answers with a warm smile. “Hey. I love you.”

Beaming, she says, “I love you, too.” 

…

Looking down at the tiny baby and glancing to her side, Mellie mutters, “We did it, baby. Look at him.”

Wiping his eyes, Fitz nods. “Our baby boy. I never- I knew it would change everything, but I wouldn’t have thought feeling this way was possible.”

Mellie smiles.

Taking the baby, Fitz carefully puts him in the hospital cot and leans down to kiss him. Digging a small box out of his pocket, he sits back down. “I have something for you.”

“Fitz,” she says with a small smile.

“I should have given it to you when we got married,” he says. “I guess- I know this could come at a better time, a much better time, but I guess I was never completely sure. But we’re a team. We have a baby. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you and him.”

Opening the box and showing her the ring, he explains.

“Sweet baby,” she translates. Teary-eyed, she leans over to kiss him. “Are you sure, now?”

“More than I ever have been about anything,” he promises.

“Help me put it on, then.”

…

At a party some senator is hosting, Hal can’t help but grin when he sees Tom.

Tom gives a small smile, says something into his mike, and comes over to take a nearby agent’s place.

Once they’re both relieved of duty, they go for a walk outside, and Hal asks, “Whose detail?”

“Senator Langston,” Tom answers. “Any vacancies in Senator Grant’s?”

Surprised, Hal tentatively asks, “Not a good fit?”

“I’m not a religious person,” is Tom’s tactful reply.

Hal tries not to say anything bad about the people he’s protecting, partly because it’s his job not to and partly because he’s afraid he’ll somehow be caught, but he wishes he could be as naturally diplomatic as Tom. Once, a congresswoman whose detail he was on spent two weeks at the Langston house, and he knew then, if he ever got assigned to Langston, it might just be best to resign if he couldn’t convince whoever was doing the assigning otherwise. By month one, he’d be ranting to anyone willing to listen about how crazy and mean she was, never mind the six or seven months Tom’s been there.

“Well, the Grants are great, but I’m not sure how well you’d like it. Mayor Grant will tell anyone nearby all about his son and the new baby. He’ll go into great detail.”

Hal looks forward to the morning and occasional nightly reports, but the other agents throw around words like ‘ambush’.

“I’d rather hear a gushing father than what I’ve been hearing,” Tom responds.

Hal knows better than to ask.

“Sorry,” he offers. “I’ll see if we could use another agent.”

“Thank you.”

…

On the Grant campaign trail, he and Tom end up sharing hotel rooms.

One night, he gathers up his courage and announces, “I’m worried. About how Mr Grant and Ms Pope- They’re very close.”

Tom gives him a look. “It’s not our place.”

“Yeah, but- that doesn’t make it any better.”

“No,” Tom says, and Hal’s not sure whether he’s agreeing or disagreeing.

“What if something does happen?”

“We do whatever is best for Senator Grant,” Tom answers. “She and her children are our priority.”

…

In the moonlight, Olivia Pope laughs and declares, “You know that isn’t true.”

Fitz grins and insists, “I don’t care how good you are at spinning things, there’s no arguing with black and white statistics, Livvie.”

Reaching out, she says, “Of course, there is. It’s all a matter of-”

They both pause.

“Oh,” she says.

“Oh,” he echoes.

Then, sighing, he moves away. “Livvie- I love my wife. Mellie and I are a team. I- this isn’t me wanting something new. What I’m feeling right now for you is real.”

“But your life is with her,” she says with a sad smile. “And I’d hate being the other woman. That isn’t who I am.”

Standing up, she says, “It’s okay. I’m going to make her President of the United States. And when she’s done, I’m going to help you carve out a name for yourself.” Moving over, she touches his cheek. “You’re a good man. She’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m lucky to have her,” he quietly responds.

Reaching up, she kisses him. “No more talks alone. I’ll see you and Mellie in the morning, Fitz.”

He nods.

…

Inside, Fitz finds Mellie pacing and reading her speech aloud.

“You’re going to look like a zombie tomorrow,” he teases.

“That’s the beauty of makeup,” she mutters. “I have to be ready. Ever since that Daniel Douglas scandal, our party has been under even more-”

“Mellie,” he says. Reaching over, he takes the papers, sets them down, leads her to the bed, and sitting down, pulls her down next to him. Wrapping his arm around her and kissing her head, he says, “You’re going to do wonderful, sweetheart. I promise.”

She turns enough to look at him. “Thank you, Fitz. How’s Olivia doing? Is she still happy?”

“She still adores you,” he promises. “And so do I. We’re going to get you this, Mellie. And you’re going to be amazing.”

“What about you,” she asks. “Are you still happy?”

“Mellie.”

“I know we haven’t been talking much lately and almost all our time is on the trail. It’s important I make sure,” she says.

Smiling, he kisses her. “I’m happy,” he tells her. “I have a wonderful wife, two beautiful, healthy children, and soon, I’m going to be one of the most powerful men in the world.”

“Sweetie, just because you’re a man, the position of First Man isn’t going to be any more for you than it is for First Ladies.”

“I’m going to be sleeping right next to the most powerful woman in the world. And I know all your weaknesses, baby.”

She laughs. “Oh, really?”

Nodding, he kisses her neck. “Uh-huh. Some of them, I can’t really tell the public without revealing my own, but you forgetting Karen, yelling at that nurse, cheating on a certain exam-”

Lying back as his hands roam, she protests, “It was your fault we forgot Karen, that nurse was an incompetent idiot, and I did not cheat.”

“Uh-huh.”

Laughing, she pulls him up for a kiss. “And if I did, I’d say you were one to talk, with how often everyone is always complaining about you cheating at basketball. Even Tom and Hal agreed when Cyrus started in.”

“Hal only agreed because Tom did, and I don’t cheat, I play it so well they can’t possibly hope to match me.”

“Really,” she repeats.

“Really,” he agrees with another kiss.

She wraps her legs around him and slips her hands underneath his shirt.

…  

When President Mellie Grant is sworn in, Hal buys Tom a soda water and orders a beer for himself.

They clink glass and bottle.

“We have our work cut out for us,” he comments.

“Yep,” Tom agrees.

“I wonder what she’ll do first.”

“Probably shut down several of the detainment centres the U.N. has condemned us for having,” Tom says.

“Yeah, based on the way Cyrus Beene has been ranting about the subject since Ms Pope brought him in, if she doesn’t, I’m a little worried we might be protecting her from him.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Tom comments.

Steeling himself, Hal asks, “What do you think she’ll do about gay marriage?”

Tom shrugs. “From what I’ve heard, she’s going to try to focus more heavily on abortion rights and strengthening the military than anything. If she shuts down the detainment centres, we should have more soldiers to spare for other first response and peacekeeping endeavours.”

Making sure to keep his tone light, Hal says, “You suddenly know a lot more about politics.”

“Those quizzes,” Tom offers.

“Right.”

Cyrus Beene had gotten offended about something some alphabet agency agent had said, and the next thing everyone knew, all Secret Service agents were taking political quizzes designed by Cyrus, and those who failed- he somehow knew exactly what kind of detail to put them on to make them regret not being politically well-versed.

Tom had studied, and Hal had studied, too, if ‘study’ could be defined as ‘cheated off Tom’.

“Getting rid of DADT would give us more soldiers,” Hal says. “And gay marriage should have been made legal in all fifty states years ago.”

“You could have gotten extra points if you’d written that in on your quiz,” Tom says.

“Beene’s for gay marriage?”

“I wouldn’t know. I do know two agents scored higher than me because they wrote detailed essays on their own political viewpoints, and he took points away from me when I told him I was apolitical.”

Trying not to laugh, Hal says, “I could have told you that was a bad idea."

“I got them back when I argued entrapment based on the fact he asked and didn’t-”

Finally, Hal can’t keep himself from laughing.

Tom gives an almost sheepish shrug.

Finishing his beer, Hal asks, “What do you think of gay marriage?”

“I don’t understand why anyone would want to be married, but other people getting married doesn’t affect me on a personal level. If my job is to protect someone and their family, I will do that job, regardless of what the country thinks of their choices.”

Hal gives up.

He knows he has friends and co-workers he’s on friendly terms with.

There’s a difference between the two, and despite a few tentative attempts on Hal’s part to change it, Tom has always been the latter.

Tom brings Cyrus pastries, always volunteers to take position in the hallway near Cyrus’s office, and not only didn’t complain about the unfairly imposed quizzes, he apparently took time to find out exactly how well he did rather than just accepting, “Congratulations, I won’t be reassigning you to your own personal hell, agent.”

He’s seen the way Tom looks at Cyrus when Cyrus isn’t looking, and it’s subtle enough a person would have to know Tom on a somewhat personal level to see how it differs from his normal face, but it’s definitely different.

While Hal has no idea how someone like Cyrus could be considered attractive on a romantic or sexual level, he doesn’t care about Tom liking men.

…

Hal decides he can’t ignore it anymore when Cyrus is ranting about something one day.

“He’s from Florida, for God’s sake! That’s 65 thousand square miles of corruption!”

Tom quietly laughs.

Shooting him a brief glare, Cyrus continues, “I am not going to let some inbred yodel who no doubt got his seat by appealing to…”

Tom reaches over, keeps Cyrus in place with a hand on the shoulder, and managing to dodge Cyrus’s still rapidly moving hands, redoes Cyrus’s hastily done tie.

When he’s done, he lets go, and Cyrus continues pacing and ranting.

Once Cyrus has wandered off, Hal comes over and asks, “You free tonight?”

“Sure,” Tom answers.

…

They drink quietly until, aware this is not the right way to handle things, Hal blurts out, “I don’t care that you like men.”

Tom jumps slightly. “Who said I do?”

Sighing, Hal says, “You’re paying for these drinks. Look, that’s all. To be honest, I have no idea what you see in Cyrus Beene, but let’s not pretend, if the world were different, you wouldn’t have already made a move. Or that I wouldn’t have gotten fed up and sort of made one on your behalf. As it is, just know that I don’t care.”

Almost too quietly to hear, Tom asks, “How do you know that I haven’t? And that he didn’t reciprocate?”

Taking this in, he says, “Oh.”

He’d been looking at things solely from Tom’s end, but he realises what happened earlier in the day, especially with Cyrus’s reaction to it, makes more sense if applied to two people in a relationship rather than one person with a case of puppy love.

“Ever since Daniel Douglas left Senator Langston for that reporter, he’s been even more- concerned about what we do getting out,” Tom continues. “I didn’t exactly tell you, but if he knew you knew, he’d blame me. Please.”

“I’m not going to say anything,” he promises. “Uh, but how do you feel about it? Not being open.”

Tom considers the question. “We’re both private people. It’d be nice if we lived in a world where it getting out wouldn’t risk both of our careers, but if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t talk about her or our relationship at work, either.”

Hal knows better, but he doesn’t say anything.

Most likely, Tom wouldn’t be like Mr Grant and corner anyone who can’t shove Hal in his direction while they make their escape to give a detailed presentation on how wonderful his family is, but- Tom does causally talk about Cyrus, to Hal, at least, and he’s probably mentioned Cyrus to several other people, too. Looking back at some of their conversations, Hal sees they contained, though carefully and heavily edited, references to the relationship.

Seeing Tom still has some soda water, Hal raises his beer. “Here’s to friendship and other relationships that make us happy.”

Smiling, Tom nods and clinks his glass against the bottle. “To friendship and other relationships.”

…

Hal learned how important freedom of the press was in middle school, but there are days when he fully understands why people in Washington hate journalists.

Getting Tom’s voicemail, Hal groans. “Okay, look, Tom, I’m being very serious: If you haven’t caught the news, don’t turn on the TV, pick up a paper, or turn on the radio. Seriously, just call me, and I will explain why. Uh, if you have, please, call me as soon as you get this. Okay? Just trust me.”

He hangs up and looks down at the pictures of Tom and Cyrus kissing.

…

An hour later, there’s a knock on his door.

Opening it, he finds Tom in his jogging clothes with a hoodie on.

He steps aside. “Get my message?”

“Cyrus has his name on Google alert.”

“Oh. I’m sorry about all of this.”

Shaking his head, Tom sighs and sits down. “I knew better.”

Digging through his fridge, Hal finds a small bottle of milk still in date and grabs a soda for himself.

“Here,” he says. “I haven’t drunk from it. I used some to make mashed potatoes.”

“Thank you.”

Sitting down, he says, “Well, I don’t know how this is going to affect his job, but at least, yours should be fine.”

“Not everyone is as protective as you are.”

Something about his tone strikes Hal. “If you mean protective of themselves, they should be. I like to hang out with you outside of work, but at work, I want you to have my back because you’re one of the best agents I’ve ever seen.”

Tom gives him a startled look.

“We both know it’s true. You can disarm a suspect without causing injury, you know every protocol and procedure there is without having to look them up, your weapon scores are off the chart, and you’ve got one of the coolest heads I’ve ever seen. Remember that McLeod bomber? No one could have handled it like you did. If Foxfire, her family, or just me is in the line of fire, I want you nearby, not because I like you but because I like the chances of everyone, including any possible hostiles, coming out alive much better if you are.”

Tom smiles. “Thanks.”

“I used to pretend to be Captain America,” Hal admits. “We’ve never talked about why we got into this job. I hated bullies as a kid, too.”

“To me, soldiers are supposed to protect civilians above anything. After college, I was going to join the army, but- I don’t agree with the war. If I thought it was just, I’d be more than willing to serve. But I don’t. Whatever their politics, I do believe most politicians do genuinely try to serve their country and its people. They shouldn’t be attacked for that, but more importantly, their families shouldn’t be under threat. Since they are, though, I’m helping protect America and its citizens by protecting the people serving it.”

“Aside from not liking discrimination in general, I hate DADT because, if someone is willing to risk their lives for innocent people, if they’re willing to risk their lives for the other people risking everything, then, I want that person to be able to. So, if your job isn’t safe, you have someone who will fight for you.”

Taking a drink of the milk, Tom reaches up to wipe his mouth. “I believe in what the republic should be and what it could be. That’s why I do what I do. People in high places do terrible things and get away with it. Oppression helped build this country. But if there’s ever a possibility those words about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness could truly be applied to every citizen, I want to be part of it."  

Hal wishes he’d tried harder to get to know Tom better much earlier.

…

“Why wouldn’t Cyrus tell us? He had to know how bad this would be if it got out!”

“Because he’s a human being, entitled to privacy?”

Mellie glares, and Fitz pulls her to sit next to him. “Olivia will fix this.”

“He should have told us. And what do we really know about Tom, anyways?”

“Mellie,” he says. “The fact Tom follows you around like a puppy suddenly doesn’t bother me at all, and admittedly, I probably shouldn’t have assumed certain things. Like why he follows Cyrus around, too.”

She gives him a suspicious look. “You knew?”

“Mellie,” he says in exasperation. “I just admitted that I was uneasy about his devotion to you. No, I didn’t know. I thought he might- with you, and I thought he just really admired Cyrus. Homophobia, heteronormality, whatever’s responsible, I got them mixed up. I’m still not completely comfortable with Hal, though, because I know he does like women.”

He smiles.

Shaking her head, she relaxes against him. Quietly, she tells him, “They were both there that night with Big Jerry. If anything, I think that explains both of them.”

“I notice you’re not exactly reassuring me about how I’m the only one you could possibly want.”

Laughing, she kisses him. “You’ve always known you’re the only one for me, baby.”

“And you for me,” he answers. Sighing, he says, “With the way the world can be, I can’t blame Cy for not telling us.”

“No, I can’t, either,” she says. “But I still wish he had. We could have protected him better. Both of them. Even Hal, he and Tom are so close, this could hurt him, too.”

“Olivia will help,” he assures her. “We’re not losing any of them.”

…

When Tom’s called into the Oval, Hal confiscates his badge.

“If my resignation is asked for-”

“You will be quiet and let me talk.”

“I can’t do that. If that’s what my president needs-”

“You’ve got being quiet down to an art, and we’ve discussed this. What President Grant and her family needs is an agent like you. Now, if you don’t start walking, we’re going to be late.”

Tom starts walking but tries to retake the badge. “You weren’t summoned.”

“Yeah, well, since I’m your ride, that means I get to be there.”

Tom must be even more worried than Hal guessed because he doesn’t give the customary look he usually gets when confronted with Hal’s impeccable logic.

They get to the Oval, and seeing Cyrus leaning against the desk, Tom moves behind Hal.

Trying not to roll his eyes, Hal reaches behind him, pulls Tom in front of him, and pushes him towards Cyrus.

Ms Pope gives him a beautiful smile, and he desperately hopes he’s not suddenly blushing.

“Madam President, again, I’m so sorry about this, ma’am,” Cyrus says.

President Grant gives him a sympathetic look, and Mr Grant reaches over to pat his shoulder.

“Don’t apologise,” Ms Pope orders. “You should have told me, Cyrus, but this is not something you apologise to anyone for ever.” Turning a softer smile on Tom, she says, “Now, Tom, I know you might find this invasive, and for that, I am sorry, but I’m going to need to ask you and Cyrus some incredibly personal questions.”

“Alright,” Tom agrees.

“First, how serious are things between the two of you?”

Tom looks off in the distance.

Cyrus links their fingers together, and based on the breath Tom takes, Hal is a little worried he momentarily wasn’t breathing.

Tom looks over, and his eyes are softer and younger than Hal’s ever seen them.

Giving Tom a brief kiss on the lips, Cyrus answers, “We’re serious. We didn’t exactly start out that way, but…”

…

When everyone takes a break for lunch, Hal asks, “You okay?”

Nodding, Tom says, “Aside from that one time, I’ve never forgotten the keys. Cyrus was responsible. I’m so glad I did.”

“Yeah,” Hal agrees. “Me too.”


End file.
